Hello all,
When we say shoulder strikes, Rules Theory is basically meaning “punches” with the shoulder. If you see an action that’s best described as a shoulder “punch” or “jab”, then you’re probably looking at an illegal strike. If you would not describe the action like that, then it’s probably not a strike. It is not Rules Theory intention to ban any and all shoulder blocks.
For a shoulder strike, we are looking for the use of a focused blocking zone, i.e. a very small contact patch, like the pointy point of the shoulder. We are looking for a wind-up with the shoulder, followed by the bony point being used to “punch” an opponent.
Another thing I would like to point out, based on the feedback and suggestions received here in this thread Rules Theory did correct and tweak some of the proposed language for the final proposal. For instance, we removed the “intend to harm” language from the strike definition. It’s the same document as posted above, but here’s another link to the change doc.
This isn’t the first time Rules Theory has proposed changes that membership was unsure or concerned about. When forceful back blocks were first proposed, membership was very concerned with potential overcalls. But together as a community we figured out what a forceful back block looked like. When we allowed skaters to travel in either direction to the box to report for a penalty, many skaters and officials believe it was the end of derby and people were going to be seriously injured in collisions the OPR lane, but that turned out fine too. Even went we got rid of minor penalties, many thought it was a bad idea and that gameplay would become to dangerous.
Also, if the new rules are voted in, Rules Theory will be monitoring things to see how things are going. Clarifications will be issued as needed if we see shoulder strikes being over called. For most of WFTDA membership, you really shouldn’t notice any change to gameplay as shoulder strikes aren’t super common anyway.